Prof. A.N.Sadhu
The second term in office, of the Modi Government has formally begun. The electoral win of BJP ( NDA) exhibits an overwhelming response of the electorate towards the party that has formed the Government for the second time, matching the earlier record of Pandit Jwaharlal Nehru and his daughter Mrs. Indra Gandhi. The electoral response may not be singularly attributed to Mr. Modi’s and that of his Party Preaident’s political skills, but also to the compulsions of the electorate to have gone this way. Political Pandits will carry out exercises of analysis of Parliamentary elections 2019 and offer theoretical as also the situational explanations of this phenomenon, but the fact remains that this win for the BJP will be recorded in Indian history as the recognition, by the electorate of the country, of the governments deliverance of Public welfare activities during its five year term 2014-2019. The 2019 National Elections will also be recorded as a phase of complete derailment of the opposition from the focused objective of offering better developmental alternatives to the people. The elections looked like personal wars between the people and the parties and hardly did a debate take place on policy issues relating to peace, development and security concerns. Although Pulwama and its likely consequences were deliberated upon by the party in power, to its advantage. In any case, the new government has to handle an enhanced responsibility of coming to the people’s expectation.
Critics have started raising questions on fairness of the elections as also on the perceived dangers to the country, in future. The temptation to write this piece, emerged out of reading the cover story of Indian currents ( 27th May- 02 June, 2019) written by Cedric Prakash with the title of India Lost. While justifying the title of his cover story, the learned author has drawn parallels with the Milton’s ‘ “Paradise Lost”. He writes
” A re-reading of this master piece and contextualising it to the India today, throws up some amazing parallels; it is as if Milton was present today, and despite his blindness, he was able to see through the intrigue and machinations, the corruption and co-options, the lust for power and domination, the powerful rhetoric of lies and threats, it is all there. The verdict that the General elections threw up on23 May is in fact all about ” India Lost” The author concluded that while BJP has won, the people of the country have been defeated. This provocative conclusion leads to the present write up.
The election, in fact, has been the victory of the people and their mature handling of the choice they exercised at the hustings. Yes it has been the defeat of those who have been theorizing the functioning mechanism of the government during the last five years as some kind of departure from democratic and secular norms as defined by them. There was no such departure but the things did seem to be changing for the better, if not in full measure, but in some measure, definitely. The recurrent scams witnessed in the earlier regime, the unbridled corruption in all walks of life and inefficient administration had shaken the faith of the people and an alternative afforded to them was welcomed overwhelmingly. The system of administration did improve, the corruption visibly recorded a decline and hardly was any scam registered during the last five years. The greatest contribution of Mr. Modi as Prime Minister should be seen in the revival of ancient civilizational and cultural glory of Indian heritage which is spiritually, philosophically and socially so rich that world has started looking at India, not only as an emerging economic power but also as a global leadership capable of guiding the world towards achieving peace and glory of the humanity. Yes, Mr. Modi took some hard decisions such as demonitisation, GST and bold security initiatives, which resulted into, both, some difficulties and some resentments in some sections of the society but Mr. Modi also addressed to some basic concerns of the masses. Be it health and sanitation, be it gas and electricity or be it rural banking and insurance, all these measures brought about a welcome change in the polity, economy and the society as a whole. There have been bigger promises made by Mr. Modi and his party which have not been realized. There definitely has not been any substantial progress on “Black Money” unearthing it and using it for the productive purposes; No significant progress has been made on employment generation and no path breathing initiations have been witnessed to sort out the issues with the neighbouring country-Pakistan. The violence in Kashmir has remained unabated even when stiff measures have been used to curb militancy. The displaced Kashmiri Pandids are still waiting for justice. The BJP government will remain hard pressed to handle these problems to the people’s satisfaction. The industrialization, in large scale, should be on the priority of the NDA-2. Skill formation and entrepreneurship development shall have to be taken on priority. The HRD warrants attention towards creating a high quality turn out from the universities. The New India, conceptually and philosophically should generate new thinking about nation building based on objectivity and embracing of New World order narrative of peace and development.
On the ideological front, the Hindutara and ” Hindu Nationalism” have come to be criicised in a big way. Policical Pandits can dilate these expressions in a bigger way. But, on the face of it, the use of two terms does not and should not lead to the inference that this has caused polarization in the Indian society. Hindutava should not cannote any religious extremism because it is a philosophy of, Vasudev Kutambkam and ” Sarva Dharma” with its basic tenet, ‘ Sarve baventu sukhena, etc., The basic Indian philosophy , be it social or spiritual, is all encompassing and polarization or extremism is not even remotely connected with it. When we talk of intrinsic strengths of Indian philosophy, it always talks more of humanity than religion and when it talks of religion, it is all encompassing. Our constitution is a testimony to the country’s unflinching belief in humanity decorated by all hues, faiths and beliefs and so long as India adheres to this philosophy, it will move forward.
If Mr. Modi has succeeded in convincing the world community about the richness of Indian ethos, philosophical, social and spiritual of building a world free from strife and struggle, it should unhesitatingly, be concluded that India is regained and its lost links with glorious heritage are rebuilt. The defective EVM’s and other charges of election irregularities are frivolous and do not warrant any serious attention. “India Regained” has given confidence to the electorate to think freely, fearlessly and objectively and make their own choices and not be lead by any caste, creed or religious considerations while exercising their franchise. People this time have shown their awareness and maturity and given an additional opportunity to NDA to address to the concerns of the people and enhance the grandeur of the country, both nationally and internationally. Let India be ‘Regained’ and not lost.
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